In 1983, the City of St. Paul granted a franchise to District Energy St. Paul, Inc. to operate a district energy system within St. Paul and sell the energy to residents of the City. District Energy relies on recycled wood chips to provide the primary fuel for the CHP. Utilizing approximately 280,000 tons of urban wood residuals, District Energy’s CHP is able to produce 65 megawatts of heat and up to 33 megawatts of electricity that provides enough power for 20,000 homes.